Quote of the Day

By Megan McArdle

On the 47 million people without health insurance point, that too is a
statistic where there is less than meets the eye. First, health
insurance does not equal health care (there are not just emergency
rooms but cash-based clinics, and conversely, a lot of people with
insurance don't get good health care). Second, of that 47 million, 14
million are already eligible for existing programs (Medicare, Medicaid,
veterans' benefits, SCHIP) yet have not enrolled, 9.7 million are not
citizens, 9.1 million have household incomes over $75,000 and could but
choose not to purchase insurance, and somewhere between 3 and 5 million
are uninsured briefly(<2 months) between jobs. That leaves about 10
million Americans who are chronically without insurance. Needless to
say, extending the blanket of coverage to this group should not cost
$1.5 trillion and require a wholesale overhaul of all of medicine.